Wait For Me
by LovelySheree
Summary: "Wait for me," he said. Naruto The Last - my idea on what may happen.


**Don't read if you're a hater.**

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_Wait For Me~_

She loved him, he loved someone else. She had given her heart to him willingly, blindly following, but never had he turned around. It was painful, the amount of grief that can build and build inside a heart you no longer own. Watching him flaunt and be happy with someone else, watching him grow up into a man with someone else, watching him… that's all she was able to do.

Set aside from the moments she sacrificed when Pein had come, set aside the times she regarded not herself, but him. So why on earth was it so hard to deal with it, hadn't she been dealing with it the whole time. She knew that her heart belonged to him, and yet he never received it. That is, not until the hope of love shown onto the heart she once possessed.

"Wait for me," he said.

The scarf she had given him dangled down his neck, her pale eyes widened as she looked up to his pink-tinted face. "N-naruto," she spoke, unsteady and stuttered.

"There are some things…" he began, reaching out to touch her shoulders, "That we need to talk about. So will you, Hinata? Wait for me?" As if he didn't already know the answer.

She nodded, not stupefied, but mystified. Her heart pounded so violently in her chest that her ears could barely take in what he was saying. It wasn't his presence, it was his sincerity, it was _always _his sincerity. Perhaps _that's _what she fell in love with.

"Okay… o-okay, Naruto," she nodded, not daring to look away from his eyes.

He seemed to lighten up after that, nodding and grinning at her. "Great! I'm glad I caught you, Hinata! I'll see you around, after this mission, alright?" he said, waving just to her. Again, she only watched as he happily ran to his teammates, reunited and whole once more- the team seven that not many saw, but everyone knew of.

_Okay, _she thought, his figure disappearing into the woods.

Naruto walked, a happy bounce in his step as their reunited team went on their mission. "Well jeez Naruto," Kakashi mused, "Don't you look chipper."

"What exactly were you talking about with Hinata, Naruto?" Sasuke added in, seeming uninterested in tone, but his eyes flicked towards the blond ninja.

Naruto looked at them curiously, "What do you mean? I just needed to get something off my chest, and finally since the war's over, I can talk to her about without having to worry about anything… interfering I suppose."

Sakura, who was to his left, hadn't talked much since they left. She had seemed excited before, however, so as Naruto turned to ask her what was wrong for the millionth time, he still got the same response.

"Nothing, stop being suspicious, baka!" this time she hit his shoulder, not hard, but enough to send the message across. Naruto watched her strangely, knowing that something _was _wrong. He shrugged it off, however, knowing- _hoping _it wasn't his problem.

When they returned from their mission, there was only one thing on his mind, or two if you count Sakura's behavior. She hadn't shifted her mood the entire week they were gone, not even Sasuke's attempts at conversation with her cheered her up. He pushed that thought back, far enough so that he could focus mainly on the one. _Hinata, _he thought, racing towards the Hyuuga compound.

His steps were large, his strides wide, and in no time he was at her door. Courageously knocking, he waited for the carved wooden slab to open. There she was, slim and tall, beautiful in such a natural way. He smiled, giving a friendly wave. "Hey Hinata, how about a walk? Remember, we were gonna talk a bit?" he reminded her, hoping she hadn't caught him off guard.

This time, she nodded stupefied. "R-right, of course. How a-about around the Hyuuga com-compound?" she asked, nervously playing with her finger. _Such a nasty habit_, she thought.

He nods, putting his finger to his chin. "Yeah sure, I heard the Sakura blossoms around here are gorgeous! I've always wanted to see them," he admitted, stepping away from the door so she could walk out.

"Y-yes they are, I enjoy them too… Naruto," she whispered, a quiet wisp in the boom of the blond's annunciation.

As they walked, they talked of normal things; what's been going on since the war ended, how it was strange to have Tsunade step down from her position as Hokage,simple things really. Hinata waited for him to speak the words she had anxiously been waiting to hear, but as they reached her homestead once more, he never did bring it up.

"Listen… Hinata," he said, as they stood on her porch steps. "A-about what I _really _wanted to talk about," he said, looking up to her, empathy sewn through his features. "I… I know how you feel… towards me," His eyes never moved from hers, "I know what it's like to chase a hopeless love too…"

For a moment, she didn't question his words. But then the single word hit her like a brick to the stomach. _Hopeless? _she thought, her face staying steady.

"Don't," he said, taking the scarf around his neck and unraveling it. The cold hit his toasty skin like ice, but he lowered his hands, his scarf grasped between his fingers. "Chasing a hopeless love… it hurts. I know you've been doing it for a long time… but- but that doesn't mean it's any easier. I'm here today to tell you that... you shouldn't chase hopeless love."

The words, like shattered glass, crashed down to her ears, cutting her brains to shreds. "Hopeless?" she still hadn't gotten that word out of her head.

He nodded, firm and slow.

"And you know what hopeless love is… don't you… Naruto?" she asked, averting her gaze to the Sakura petals, blowing in the wind.

This time, he gives a low chuckle, "I do. Peg me as a hypocrite I know…"

She shook her head, "I would never say you're something you're- you're not… N-Naruto."

He furrowed his brows, giving her the scarf. "I should have done this a long time ago, but I was too ignorant before the war, and during it would be immature to tell you," his eyes fell to the red scarf that was once raveled around his neck. "But, as much as I'd like to be with you, I'll never love you as much as I should- as much as a lover should."

"B-but that's okay, Naruto. Being with me is enough-" he stopped her mid sentence.

"But it wouldn't be enough for me," he said, a faint smile growing on his lips. "If Sakura let me be with her, simply because she knew I loved her, then I wouldn't want to be with her. I don't want to force love, and I don't want to force my own love either," he clarified. He sighed, looking to her, "I'm not telling you to stop loving me, that's your own choice. I'm just telling you that… I can't be with you the way… the way that you want me to be with you."

She nodded a slow nod, something people do at the end of a funeral when someone speaks of the loss. "I understand…" she whispers.

"Yeah," he sighed, taking a step back. "I'm sorry…"

"But Naruto," she said, turning around and walking to the door, opening it just wide enough to squeeze half-way through. "W-why did you tell me to wait?" she asked.

He looked at her curiously, "I was on a mission… so I was gonna tell you when I got back- so you'd have to wait."

Her backed turned, the lights inside dimmed, he never saw the tear that fell onto the ground below. "O-okay," and the door shut.

He turned, a melancholy expression glued to his face. _I'm sorry, _he thought. _But I know how much it hurts to chase hopeless love, and I know that telling you what I really felt was… the right thing._

He walked down the road of Kanoha, bidding good night to the folks who were returning after an eventful day. The sun was dipping just below the Hokage mountain, and his eyes were beginning to droop. It wasn't even that late, but he was tired.

"Naruto?"

Why did that voice always wake him up?

He turned around, a 100-watt smile lit. "Sakura-chan! Sorry I didn't get lunch with you guys after the mission, I was busy…" he said. He didn't want to tell her about his talk with Hinata, especially about the chasing hopeless love.

"Were you talking with Hinata?" she asked, walking up to him, tilting her head curiously.

He hesitated, but a jerky nod came out. "Y-yeah, how'd you know?" he indulged.

"Well," she said, acting nonchalant, "You were talking to her before the mission, I was just assuming you guys were… what, an item now?" she pushed, her curious gaze was undying.

He recoiled, taking a step back. "N-no, not at all. I don't- I don't like her like that," he clarified.

She dips her eyebrows, unamused, "Well her stuttering problem sure seems to be growing on you."

"Sakura-chan! Really! I don't!" his arms flailed, his face flushed.

She watched him squirm, like an ant under a finger-tip. "…Okay," she finally let out, putting her hands behind her back and striding down the road. "Walk me home?"

He followed her, nodding and grinning, "Of course!"

Because he was a fool… who chased after a hopeless love.

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**And perhaps their is hope? Obviously this won't happen in the movie, but romantically speaking, it possible could. Plot-wise no, but idea-wise, yes. If that makes ****_any _****sense. **

**Please don't flame, if you don't support my story, then that's okay. **

**Yes, this is short and to the point. It's a one-shot after all. :P**

**My other ideas on the Naruto chapter 700! **

**Sakura's "daughter" with Sasuke is actually Karin's daughter, but Karin either died/is on a secret mission, and she never met her, so she calls Sakura "mom" because Sakura sorta "adopted" her or what not, being a mother she (being the "daughter") never had.**

**No idea what to say about Naruto's "daughter"… But his son could ****_easily _****be Sakura's. His eyes are similar to hers in shape, and he has the same pout-face as her. Or perhaps that was coincidence. Just spitting out idea's here…**

**Or… it's all a genjutsu.**

**GENJUTSU FOR YOU!**

**GENJUTSU FOR YOU!**

**GENJUTSU FOR EVERYONE!**

**-LovelySheree**


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